Catalytic heater



Feb. 3, 1953 D. M. sTADD ET AL CATALYTIC HEATER Filed April 15 ma? Mey Tae m mim m m N MJC .d/

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Patented Feb. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CATALYTIC HEATER DonaldilVI.` Stadd, New York, N. Y:and;Raymond PaulSchreiber, Washington, D.' C.l

Application April 15, 1949Serial No; 87,766 "a" Claims. (Cl.158-96)4 This inventionl relates yto catalytic'heaters generally, but is especiallyfadapted'for useas a hand warmer, as will appear from thelpresent illustrations and the followingdescriptiom An object of the-invention is to mount the catalytic agent at the' approximate'center of a fibrous mass to provide a catalyst bed such that the fibrous mass serves`A as' 'a heat insulating medium.

Another object of the invention is-to so mount the catalyst bed with respect to the fuel supply that an intervening vapor space is `provide-zi, and yet the bed may be readily brought into contact with the fuel supply when initiating the heating operation A further object of the' invention is to provide a pyrophoric igniter for the fuel inl the catalyst bed.

A still further objectof the invention is to provide a novel` means associated with the igniter by means of which the rate of catalytic combustion may be varied as desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefo'llovving description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective. view of one ofthe novel heaters disposed in` its flexible' casing or envelope;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the heater' apart from its envelope;

Figure 3 is a front elevation ofthe heater with its hinged cover in openposition;V

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on-line 4 4' of Figure 2,;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the. body portion of the heater with the detachable catalyst bed removed; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged longitudinal View of the body portion, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5, the catalyst bed being in position therein.

The body of theV heater consists of a shallow rectangular reservoir I, provided with a rectangular top 2, havinga circularl opening 3. This reservoir for the fuel, whichurnayv be gasoline or the like, is preferably formedY of aluminum or other light-weight metal and is filled with a charge of fiber glass 4. The `reservoir may be charged with fuel by pouring-the same through the opening 3, Where it is absorbed by the` mass of `fiber glass;

Hinged to one side of the reservoir I, as indicated by the numeral 5, is a closure', provided with a relatively largerectangular opening 1, and a relatively small opening 8, for purposes to `be hereinafter describedl Fixed? to the top 2 of the reservoir I, is a clip 9, adapted to removably hold a spring tongue I0; xed to a catalyst bed II. This bed. comprises a bag or casing formed of woven fiber glass and in' which is mounted a mass of loose fiber glass I 2. Disposed at the approximate center of the'mass of' ber glass I2 is a charge of catalytic material I3, preferably palladium black. Bythusf positioning the catalyst at or adjacent the center of the brous mass, the latter performs the dual function of supporting the catalyst and atV the-same time, serves as a heat insulating medium.

Fixed to the top 2 of the reservoir at one side of the opening 3fis a spring I4, preferably formed of spring wire shaped toprovide a `bearing surface for the catalyst bed II, and as shown in Figure 5, the free end` of the spring is disposed inline-With the opening 3, and spaced slightly abovethe same, as-indicatedinFigure 6,. It will thusbe seenI that normally the,vv catalyst bed il islield in spacedvertical,relation to the charge of fiber glass `an'cifuel inthe reservoir l by both thespring I0; and; the spring I4.

Removably` mountedin the opening tA of the closure;V 6,'` is a piece of pyrophoric material, here shown inthe form of a disc I5. ri`his disc may be removably heldin its operative position exposed toi the outer side of the closure 6 by means of a leaf spring I6, which is pivotally mounted. on the inner surface of the closure t, as indicated bythe numeral I1. Slidably mounted on the exterior of the closure 6 is a cover I8, provided with longitudinal slots I9 at each side thereof for. the reception of pins or rivets 20 which are fixed to the closure 5,' and extend upwardly through the slots I9. TheV cover is formed with downwardlyand inwardly turned fingers I 3', which aidinV slidably mounting the cover on the. exterior of the closure This cover or slide I8 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot" 2|, which is spanned by a file or other sparking device 22, secured to the cover by rivets 23. This sparking element is thus positioned in cooperativek relationship With the disc of pyrophoric material which extends through4 the opening 8 of the closure and is removablyvheld in position against the sparking element by theleaf spring I6.

The heater as structurally describedA above may be and preferably is placed in a fabric covering 24, provided with conventional snap fasteners 25.

@In the operation of thecatalytic heater, the reservoir I is i-lrst charged by gradually pouring the desired amount ofV gasoline Y or` other pre- 3 ferred fuel through the opening 3 in the top of the reservoir, so that it may be absorbed by the layer of fiber glass therein. A finger of the operator is then pressed on the catalyst bed or heating element II, against the pressure of springs III and I4, so as to bring it into contact with the gasoline-carrying fiber glass in the opening 3. By holding the -catalyst bed in that position momentarily, the gasoline will travel by capillary attraction into the body of the catalytic bed. Thereafter, by operating the sparking device 22, carried by the slidably mounted cover I8, the vapors or fumes from the catalyst bed will be ignited and a flame will be propagated for a few seconds or so, so as to heat thecatalytic material I3 on the interior of the bed II. The closure 6 is now moved about its hinge 5 into closed position, thereby depressing the catalyst bed I I toward the exposed gasoline charged fiber ever, will maintain the bed out of direct contact with the charged ber glass in the reservoir I, thereby providing a vapor space between the fuel and the catalyst bed, so as to prevent transfer of the fuel by capillary action and excessive consumption of fuel.V As the fuel vapors travel from the reservoir into the catalyst bed, the vapors passing over the catalyst I3 will maintain it in an incandescent state, thereby providing the desired heat for warming the hands or for other purposes. The amount of heat, which of course, is dependent upon the rapidity of combustion, may be varied by adjusting the position of cover 23 across the opening 'I in the closure 6. For this purpose, indicia A is provided on the slide for cooperation with one of the rivets 20 on the closure so as to visually indicate threeV different adjustments. By this means, the amount of atmospheric air entering the interior of the'heater is varied, and it will be obvious that in fairly moderate temperatures, the cover would be adjusted to the point 1, while in extremely cold weatherrthe cover would be adjusted to the point indicated by the number 2 or the numeral 3, so asto admit a greater amount of atmospheric air into the interior of the heater and thereby increase the rapidity of combustion. It will be understood, of course, that after the heater isset in operation, it may be enveloped in its casing 24, and placed in the wearers pocket, in the back of a Yglove or in any other preferred position for accomplishing the desired purpose of heating the Wearers hands or other parts of his anatomy.

When the use of the heater is discontinued, the same is removed from the envelope 24, and the closure 6 is opened. As soon as this operation is performed, the springs I and I4 will elevate the catalyst bed or heating element II, thereby preventing further transfer of fuel to the catalyst and further combustion is automatically discontinued.

From the foregoing description and the attached drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we have devised a relatively simple construction of a catalytic type of heater in which the catalyst is disposed in the approximate center of a bed of fibrous material so that the material serves not only as a support for the catalyst but also asa heat insulating medium; that a pyrophoric igniter is provided for initiating the operation of the heater; that the catalyst bed is resiliently mounted so that it isautomatically moved to inoperative position by a mere opening of the closure of the heater; that spring means are provided for maintaining the catalyst bed in spaced relation to the fuel reservoir when the closure is brought to its operative position; and that a slidable cover or valve is provided for regulating the amount of heat generated within the heater.

While various structural details have been shown and described herein, it is to be understood that such details are merely for the purpose of illustrating one form of the invention, and are not intended to be used in a limiting sense; the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A catalytic heater including a reservoir adapted to receive liquid fuel and provided with an opening in its top, an upwardly inclined spring mounted adjacent said opening and extending over the same, and a movably mounted catalyst bed disposed above said spring and normally held thereby in spaced relation to said reservoir.

2. A catalytic heater including a reservoir adapted to receive liquid fuel and provided With an opening in its top, an upwardly inclined spring wire mounted adjacent said opening and extending over the same, and a movably mo'unted catalyst bed disposed above said opening in cooperative relation to said spring and normally spaced from said reservoir.

3. A catalytic Vheater including a reservoir adapted to receiveV liquid fuel and provided with an opening in its top, a clip secured to the top of the reservoir adjacent said opening,ra catalyst bed, and a spring tongue secured to one end of the catalyst bed and adapted to be received by said clip, whereby the catalyst bed is normally held in spaced relation to said reservoir.

4. A catalytic heater including a reservoir adapted to receive liquid fuel and provided 'with an opening in its top; a clip secured to the top of the reservoir adjacent an edge thereof, a spring wire secured to said top adjacent the opening and extending over `the same, yand a catalyst vbed detachably connected to said clip and extending over said opening and spring wire andin cooperative relation to the latter and normally spaced from said reservoir.

5. A catalytic heater including a fuel-holding reservoir provided with an openingin its top, -a closure hinged to one side of the reservoir and provided with an opening, a catalyst bed extending over the opening in the reservoir, and a slidably-mounted cover for varying the effective size vof the opening in the closure.

6. A catalytic heater including a fuel-holding reservoir provided with an opening in its top, a closure hinged to one side'of the reservoir and provided with an opening, pyrophoric material mounted in the opening of said closure, a sparking device movably mounted on said closure for cooperation with said pyrophoric material, and a catalyst bed disposed between said closure and the top of the reservoir. Y

'7. A oatalytiorheater including a fuel-holding reservoir provided with an opening in its top, a closure hinged to one side of the reservoir and provided with a relatively large rectangular opening and a relatively small opening, pyrophoric material mounted in the smaller opening, a catalyst bed extending over the opening in the reservoir, a slidably-mounted cover on the closure for varying the effective size or" the rectangular opening, and a sparking device on theY under sideof 5 6 the cover for cooperation with said pyrophoric Number Name Date material. 1,353,314 Chapman Sept. 21, 1920 DONALD M. STADD. 1,502,251 Kanazawa, July 22, 1924 RAYMOND PAUL SCHREIBER. 1,753,897 Loeb Apr. 8, 1930 :5 2,042,690 Weber June 2, 1936 REFERENCES CITED 2,579,620 smith Dec. 25, 1951 The following references are of record in the FOREIGN PATENTS me of this patent: Number Country Date UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 153,213 Great Britain Nov. 4, 1920 Number Name Date 693,002 France Q" Aug. 11, 1930 912,879 Noetel Feb. 16, 1909 399,642 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1933 1,266,162 Rosin May 14, 1918 630,104 Germany May 20, 1936 1,347,631 Herck July 27, 1920 

